Microsoft reportedly working on bringing Xbox One games to web browsers

Xbox One and Xbox 360 games could soon be played in a web browser if a current Microsoft research project comes to fruition.

On Wednesday a Neowin report claimed the firm is actively working on solving the lag issues that have prevented cloud-based gaming take off at the top end of the industry.

The report points out the firm has enjoyed success when testing last-gen and next-gen Xbox One games in web browsers like Chrome and Internet Explorer, even at 60 frames per second.

Although many research projects never make it to prime time, a Neowin source pegged the functionality as Microsoft’s “next killer gaming feature”

Reporter Brad Sams wrote: “The Xbox 360 games offer up the full experience, including the dashboard running in the browser too. So don’t think this is some hacked together project, this is the real deal. The product, as it stands right now, has Xbox branding and works outside the walls of Microsoft.”

The report says Microsoft’s speedy Azure cloud platform would be central to any future roll out of a browser-based Xbox experience.

The test has graduated “beyond the concept stage” and looks “increasingly likely” to arrive in the “not too distant future,” Sams added.

Licensing issues (such as PC publishers worried about a browser based service cutting into their sales) would also need to be worked out before a consumer-facing platform could go live.

However, an Xbox One experience perfectly replicated via the cloud in your web browser could change gaming forever. Do you think Microsoft’s tests will ever make it to gamers? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.Read more:Xbox One tips and tricks

Chris Smith is a freelance technology journalist for a host of UK tech publications, including Trusted Reviews. He's based in South Florida, USA.
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